Aug 17 (Island) Sri Lanka has received WFP�s backing for a project to provide take-home rations in lieu of in-school meals. The following is the text of a joint statement issued by the govt and the WFP recently: �With WFP�s assistance, the Govt will commence the second phase of take-home rations distribution to 1.2 million children enrolled in the National School Meal Programme. This initiative is funded by the Govt with a contribution of US$6 million (LKR1.2 B) and WFP with more..

Aug 17 (DM) By administering a booster dose, it will halt or minimize the spread of the disease and prevent further mutation, thereby preventing a mutant variant, GMOA said. They said it is essential to go for a third dose of vaccine as a booster. If a booster is to be administered, a plan of action must be set in place identifying a timeline, the initial categories to be administered through a methodology, they said. more..

Aug 17 (CT) Former MP and JVP Central Committee member, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said the Govt suddenly shuffled Cabinet targeting the removal of Pavithra Wanniarachchi as Health Minister. Saying the former Health Minister�s removal indicates her failure in COVID prevention, he pointed out that no changes have been made in connection with the head of the COVID Prevention Presidential Task Force, Army Commander Shavendra Silva or head of the intelligence division, who is supplying more..

Aug 17 (DM) Business operations of at least 31 cities across the country have been suspended as of today while another 15 cities have suspended operations today due to the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, business operations in the areas under the Trincomalee Urban and Municipal Council, Kegalle, Chilaw, Ampara, Wennappuwa, Kekirawa,Monaragala, Divulapitiya, Deraniyagala, Orrgasmanghandiya, Wadduwa, Banduragoda, Rikillagaskada, have stopped. more..

Aug 17 (MB) Sunitha Rathnayake, a homemaker in southern Sri Lanka, was down to the last of her salt and planned to order some more from an online grocery service at the end of June. But she soon found out that salt was out of stock at the main supermarkets, with shoppers panic-buying the condiment; they were apparently fearful that future supplies of salt would be contaminated by pollutants from sunken X-Press Pearl container ship. more..

Aug 17 (Island) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa says the govt has planned to inoculate children over 12 years against Covid-19. Speaking at the inauguration of the Southern Province Covid-19 Child Care Unit at the Hambantota Hospital via Zoom from his Tangalle residence, the Premier said children with various complications would be given priority. The Covid treatment centres at the Hambantota Hospital commenced in March 2020. Since then, about 6,000 patients have been treated there. more..

Aug 17 (Island) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday cautioned that if the spread of the Covid virus was not controlled immediately, the country would be plunged into a catastrophe. He appealed to all parties to come together to save lives. He requested Prez Rajapaksa to summon all party leaders in Parliament to inform them of the govt�s plan to contain the pandemic. Issuing a video statement to the media, Wickremesinghe called on the Prez to summon all party leaders more..

Aug 17 (DM) While stressing the need to consider the recommendations and predictions of the local medical specialists and foreign experts on the pandemic situation in the country, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena said today the govt should be flexible in making decisions and act during this pandemic crisis. He told Parliament that the Govt should act with responsibility on the escalating Covid deaths and positive cases. more..

Aug 17 (CT) Only 146 of 225 MPs were vaccinated against COVID-19 as of 12 Aug, a Right to Information (RTI) request revealed. Vaccination started for MPs on 16 February. However, until now only 146 MPs are vaccinated, according to an RTI reply from Parliament. Accordingly, 122 MPs got two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine at Army Hospital, Narahenpita, while 24 MPs got two doses of Russia�s Sputnik V vaccine at the Health Centre of Parliament. more..

Aug 17 (Island) The TNA was holding discussions with the govt on solving the issues faced by the Tamil people, TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan told the media yesterday. However, there were no secret agreements between the two sides, he added. The MP made this statement in response to allegations made by Tamil politicians that the TNA had reached an understanding with the govt. �We have had talks with the govt on issues faced by Northerners due to the pandemic. more..

Aug 17 (FT) Tea is a perennial crop. It is the major agricultural export income earner for our country. Main stakeholders involved in tea in Sri Lanka are smallholder growers (owning less than 10 acres), small tea estate owners (owning 10-50 acre extents), corporate sector plantations, tea manufacturers in private, corporate, and state sectors, tea brokers, marketeers, exporters, banks and suppliers of engineering services, more..

Aug 17 (SLN) The President and Commander-in- Chief of Armed Forces of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Rear Admiral YN Jayarathne as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy, effective from today (17th August 2021). Accordingly, Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne, officially handed over the letter of appointment in this regard to Rear Admiral YN Jayarathne at the Navy Headquarters, today. more..

Aug 17 (DM) The Marine Drive extension project from Wellawatte to Dehiwala is nearing completion and it will be open for traffic later this year, Minister of Highways Johnston Fernando said. �The construction of the two sections from Kollupitiya to Steuart Place Wellawatte and to Dehiwala has reached their final stages,� the Minister said. Addressing a progressive review meeting on Monday with engineers and the Project Director at the ministry auditorium, the minister said that more..

Aug 17 (EN) SL online retailer Kapruka.com is doing a roaring business on firewood an official said, as a cooking gas shortage created was created by the island�s main price control agency. Listed under home category, grocery sub category, and cleansers kapruka.com is selling a bundle of 5 kg cinnamon firewood at 140 rupees ($0.66) while a mud stove and bundle of 5 kg fire wood is offered at 390 rupees. more..

Aug 17 (Island) In support of the ongoing vigorous vaccination campaign against COVID-19 undertaken in SL under the leadership of Prez Rajapaksa, SL High Commission in Kenya has arranged a consignment of an initial order of two million syringes from a WHO prequalified company in Kenya to be sent to SL, Foreign Ministry said. The AD syringes of 0.5ml specification manufactured by the Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Ltd in Kenya are considered to be of high quality that more..

Aug 17 (TM) Leader of UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe has discussed the current Covid 19 situation in the country during the meeting with Prez Rajapaksa that concluded a short while ago. The meeting took place this morning at the Presidential Secretariat. Wickremesinghe, who had requested the meeting, asked that an All-Party Leaders meeting be convened, UNP sources said. He has explained that the political leaders could present proposals on containing the spread of the virus. more..

Aug 17 (DM) National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection (NMCRP) said some banks and financial institutions have continued to ignore the Central Bank circular and insisted their customers to pay the interest. While reiterating the NMCRP President Ranjith Withanage said that despite the circulars have been sent by the Financial Control Division of the CB, the banks and leasing companies having ignored circular more..

Aug 17 (AD) The total number people who fell victim to COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka soared yet again as a record high of 171 new fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Monday. This marks the ninth consecutive day that the daily count of COVID-19 deaths surpassed 100. The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in SL to 6,434. According to the data, the latest victims include 102 males and 69 females. more..

Aug 17 (EN) The SL Navy has trained school instructors and fisher folk in Jaffna in dragon boat racing in a bid to promote water sports in the peninsula, the navy said. The navy held a two-week workshop on dragon boat racing and a life-saving workshop were early August at the waterfront of Karainagar channel in collaboration with the Canoe Association of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Life Saving. A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft often made of fiberglass (replacing wood) and more..

Aug 18 (GV) In Oct 2020, Bimshani Jasin Arachchi was appointed as Sri Lanka�s first female Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). Six months later, she was removed from her duties by a three-bench panel by the Supreme Court. Her removal was in response to a petition filed by 33 male Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), stating that Arachchi�s appointment was erroneous as it violated the standard procedures followed in the promotion of senior police officers. more..

Aug 18 (CT) We must be the great arsenal of democracy�for us this is an emergency as serious as war itself. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war. US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (29 Dec 1941). The above quote is of an appeal made by Roosevelt to the American people and, as an extension to the US Congress on 29 Dec 1940 to aid the UK, more..

Aug 18 (DM) A damning new UN report warning of certain devastation from climate change has been dubbed humanity�s final wake-up call by environmental experts. The UN�s IPCC climate panel has released a highly anticipated report warning that efforts to limit global warming to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or even 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, will be beyond reach within the next two decades more..

Aug 18 (ST) The independent group of experts convened by the World Health Organisation in a report released last week have alerted the country to the prospect of 30,000 deaths by January 2022 unless immediate action is taken to halt the spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus within the country. In their report the experts noted with great concern the current surge in COVID-19, nearly overwhelming the capacity of the health systems to provide required adequate care for people. more..

Aug 18 (CT) After reading Asoka Seneviratne�s excellent article published in Colombo Telegraph on 12 Aug 2021, I thought of writing this addendum. Asoka has written a mastery synopsis in plain language covering the main obvious reasons for Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s unpopularity and the mess his regime and the country is in at present. The economy, that provides the livelihood, is the main concern of the people at present. Asoka has convincingly noted three main blunders more..

Aug 18 (TM) After reading Asoka Seneviratne�s excellent article published in Colombo Telegraph on 12 Aug 2021, I thought of writing this addendum. Asoka has written a mastery synopsis in plain language covering the main obvious reasons for Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s unpopularity and the mess his regime and the country is in at present. The economy, that provides the livelihood, is the main concern of the people at present. more..

Aug 18 (TM) Times are such that nothing can come before the country�s health situation, and Sri Lanka has experienced more than enough adverse effects of the prevailing pandemic to understand that all acts that even remotely pertain to the people�s health should be seriously assessed and handled carefully. It is in such a context that the Govt decided to go for a Cabinet of Ministers� reshuffle, which included the appointment of Cabinet Spokesman and former Mass Media Minister more..

Aug 18 (FT) Well-known top officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) Mohamed Nabavi Junaid passed away peacefully at his residence in Colombo in the early hours of 17 August at the age of 78. He was buried at the Jawatte Jumma Masjid burial grounds the same day at a private funeral. Nabavi Junaid had served 12 out of 47 years of his unbroken career as an SLAS officer as Secretary to several ministries, including the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs and more..

Aug 18 (FT) Asia�s leading paint and coatings Manufacturer Nippon Paint unveiled its breakthrough paint technology VirusGuard+ in Sri Lanka recently. The Sri Lankan launch of the premium interior paint with antimicrobial properties was followed by the overwhelming reception in Singapore and Malaysia where it was first introduced in the latter part of 2020. The paint is enriched with copper (Cu+) IONsto offer optimum protection against the current Covid19 strain while being washable, more..

Aug 18 (CT) Oh, how the mighty fall, when they fall. Typically, when the mighty fall, someone so close to them, sometimes sharing a bed with them are behind that fall over the cliff. When you fall off a political cliff, I guess it hurts that much more. It was Kanchana Jayaratne, legal spouse of Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi who ensured the end of Pavithra Wanniarachchi�s challenging and stressful tenure as the Minister of Health. Since the onset of the Covid pandemic in January 2020, more..

Aug 18 (CT) The ICC announced on Tuesday the schedule for the T20 World Cup 2021, which is being hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Oman and UAE. The ICC event will run from 17 Oct to 14 Nov. The tournament begins with Oman taking on Papua New Guinea in Round 1 on 17 Oc. SL who will have to qualify for the Super 12 by playing Round 1 Matches, begin their campaign against more..

Aug 18 (PTI) The ICC in May said an independent tribunal cleared Gunawardene of two corruption charges, which allowed him to take part in cricket-related activities. The Afghanistan team will have a new batting coach in former Sri Lanka player Avishka Gunawardene, the strife-torn country's cricket board announced on Tuesday amid fresh turmoil at home following the takeover by Taliban. The Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed the development on its official twitter handle. more..

Aug 18 (DM) Billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera has entered the top 20 shareholder list of SL�s top private sector bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, for the first time becoming its 14th largest ordinary voting shareholder in the quarter ended on June 30, this year. According to Commercial Bank�s interim statements, Perera owned a 1.45% stake or 16.29 million ordinary voting shares of the bank, as of June 30, 2021. In the second quarter, two UK-based funds more..

Aug 18 (FT) The premier private sector lobby group the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has recently advised the Govt on how to best set medium- to long-term policies as well as immediate measures to revive the economy despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been proposed to Prez Rajapaksa the need to set up a national level committee specifically focused on policy formation, review and implementation. more..

Aug 18 (FT) The stock market rebounded strongly yesterday with sharp gains by the indices amidst healthy turnover. The All Share Price Index gained by over 197 points or 2.5% and the S&PSL20 improved by near 2% or over 56 points. Turnover amounted to Rs. 2.9 billion involving 158.5 million shares. NDB Securities said the ASPI recorded the highest day-gain in five months as a result of price gains in counters such as LOLC Development Finance, Commercial Leasing & Finance more..

Aug 18 (Island) The US had its Saigon moment over the weekend in Kabul. Americans have left behind another unfinished war. The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan two decades ago, promising to wipe out the Taliban, which harboured al-Qaeda, and bring order out of chaos. But today that country is back to square one. The Taliban are now in power, and their return to their old ways is only a matter of time. Although they have pledged, as part of the peace deal with the US, that they will respect more..

Aug 18 (FT) A total of 3,609 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, raising the country�s COVID-19 detections to 365,683. The rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country may be due to three main mutations to the Delta variant, State Minister Channa Jayasumana said. �Researchers have discovered that a few mutations of the Delta variant spreading in SL have occurred. We are aware of 3 main mutations as of now. more..

Aug 18 (EN) Colombo Stock Exchange said a second broker system experienced a glitch when delivery versus payments system was in operation on Tuesday, delaying trading, though there had been no problems in earlier trial runs. The CSE said in had �observed certain inconsistencies in the client securities balances of a particular Broker System Vendor.� To given time for the broking firms to verify client securities balances, the Open Auction Call Session was extended up to 1145 am. more..

Aug 18 (EN) SL�s monetary meltdown will accelerate sharply and lead to default and sudden stop of external finance unless quick action is taken to stop money printing and restore deteriorating confidence. Sri Lanka�s current currency crisis started in Aug 2019 with liquidity injections to target an output gap and given a turbo boost with an unsterilized profit transfer rate cuts and outright liquidity injections in 2020. But the steeply rising central bank credit to govt and the steeply falling net foreign assets more..